What Might the Healthcare Landscape Look Like in 2018?
We all know that healthcare is expensive, and continuing to rise. We have had a crisis for years. Many administrations have tried to fix the problem, and that is how we have had Obamacare, what Trump’s adminisitration is trying to do and the proposal the Clintons made in their time. That doesn’t even include those who tried to fix the issues even further back.
So what might happen when 3 businesses throw their hats in the ring, and decide they are going to do something about bringing costs down, and simplifying technology solutions so that more people can afford what they need? Additionally, what could happen if this new, independently formed company really isn’t in it for the profit, but to help people? It almost boggles the mind as the price of medical technology, along with prescription drugs, along with facility charges are extremely high.
Having watched Amazon go from a small distributor, to the powerhouse across many different industries, in a way this isn’t very surprising. I found out about this change, and thought, well, they have put their finger in another pie. It feels like they are seeking to own the world, to be the leader across every industry they can. It feels like they want to be the solution for everything. They went from selling books to selling everything, and then diversifying out into so many other things, so why not healthcare too?
There is no doubt something real, something viable needs to be done. The government can’t seem to find the solution, so maybe the solution does lie in the private sector. Maybe we, the consumers, and the marketplace need to take it back and find solutions that provide quality healthcare and lower prices for devices and medicines. Since 2007, the Bureau of Labor and Statistics has logged a rise in medical care costs of 34%. That is huge. Especially when combined with the reality that overall prices are less than half of that cost.
So what goes into the cost of healthcare? Salaries, benefits, research and development, litigation costs, insurance to protect against litigation for all parties, facilities upkeep, equipment costs, and so many other items that all cost money. All of it together simply means expensive.
Other companies have tried solutions to get costs lower with varying degrees of success. Cardinel Health partnered with CVS several years ago to get drug costs down. It is hoped that this power house group might have a shot at helping fix a problem long overdue for a solution. It is encouraging too seeing private companies beginning to see that the solution for fixing the problem isn’t just up to the government to fix, but the companies have to get involved, care more about the profit from their products and process, and care about people.
My hope is that this plan nets us all some real benefit, and some real progress in improving healthcare in America. Time will tell, but it may be that they become the highly held up torch light paving the way for other companies to see the value of this type of change.The disruption to the traditional healthcare companies and thinking out of the box to fix the problem could start us down a very positive path.
